New campaign to help individuals look after their own health

A new campaign encouraging individuals to take a more active role in their own health has launched by Essex County Council, Essex Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and a social enterprise established by ex-BBC employees.

Working to help inform people of the benefits of healthy living, the Live Well initiative aims to have a positive impact on both the lives of people within the county and also reduce the strain on the NHS.

Encouraging the healthy living of individuals and families living in the county, the campaign features a new website providing a range of useful advice, including 300 bite-size educational videos produced by the Sound Doctor.

The videos will provide high-quality information and solutions to promote wellbeing and health to visitors.

Rosie Runciman, co-founder of the Sound Doctor, said: “We are thrilled to be working with local authorities across Essex through partnering with Essex County Council and Essex CCGs.

“From our perspective, the Live Well project demonstrates how we can make health information both engaging and accessible and we look forward to implementing this formula in our work with other CCGs.”

Founded from a growing realisation that if people weren’t encouraged and enabled to look after their own health, the NHS would go bust, the Sound Doctor was formed in 2011 by ex-BBC presenter Dominic Arkwright and ex-BBC producer Rosie Runciman.

Dr Kashif Siddiqui, local GP and Chair for NHS Castle Point and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “Whether you have a long-term condition or caring for someone that does, it’s important to feel in control and confident.”

He continued: “The Sound Doctor is a tool that offers high-quality information, giving you the confidence to manage your own health allowing you to continue your day-to-day life as much as possible. The Sound Doctor videos are full of information that people often forget to ask during a GP appointment, it is available 24/7 and you can also hear from other patients who are facing the same conditions.”

The videos are between three to five minutes in length and will provide accessible information to those who are interested in how to maintain and improve their health and wellbeing.

They feature clinical experts and have been backed by leading disease-specific charities, such as British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society and the British Lung Foundation. Topics include diabetes, COPD, back pain, heart failure, dementia and weight management surgery.

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